Haumoana House
Photography: Matt Queree
Located in central New Plymouth, this recently completed house occupies an elevated site with sweeping 180-degree panoramic views. Despite its commanding outlook, the home maintains a restrained presence within the surrounding built context, carefully scaled and articulated to sit comfortably among neighbouring properties and the hillside setting.
The design response was driven by a balance between capturing expansive views and ensuring privacy from immediately adjacent neighbours on both flanks. Sightlines, orientation, and massing were carefully considered to achieve openness without exposure. At the heart of the site is the swimming pool, positioned front and centre, with the house forming a composed architectural backdrop that reinforces the strong spatial relationship between indoor, outdoor, and landscape elements.
Generous covered outdoor living areas are a key feature of the home, enabling year‑round use in a climate that can be wet, even through summer months. These spaces extend the internal living areas while providing shelter from rain and wind, ensuring the outdoors can be comfortably occupied in all seasons. The covered areas also play an important passive role, contributing to effective solar control and helping to minimise overheating during warmer periods.
A clear sense of symmetry is expressed through the ground-floor gable forms, referencing both the surrounding residential context and the historic high school hall to the south. Traditional architectural elements, including pitched roofs and deep eaves, are utilised not only for their contextual familiarity but also to ensure a robust and appropriate weathertight response.
Materiality is grounded and natural. Solid timber columns and beams sit atop elegant Bombay stone bases, defining the entry and outdoor living spaces while providing density and a sense of solid grounding. Externally, a restrained, earthy colour palette and simple material selection give the house a quiet, timeless character.
Internally, the home adopts a refined and cohesive language through the use of timber flooring, timber wall panelling, elegant light fittings, sleek joinery, and beautifully detailed tiling throughout. The upper level accommodates the bedrooms, where elevated positions maximise the views and create a private sense of retreat and luxury.
Designed and delivered while the owners were based overseas for the duration of the project, the house reflects a high level of trust and collaboration, resulting in a carefully resolved home that is both contextually respectful and deeply connected to its site.
